A Moment in Time

2004: Being on an alien spaceship is quite an adventure. Sane people never get to say that. Jack and I getting along nicely. It's actually nice not having him as a ferret. Instead of me carrying him around, he picks me up, swings me over his shoulder, and takes me away like a ragdoll. The Doctor, on the other hand, was fun at first, but I found out at my parents' wedding he has a lot of baggage. Ever since I brought up love, he has been moody and sulking. Jack says I should be nice, but I don't like being nice to sad people. Too much negative energy. Anyway, Jack told the Doctor to take me to meet Robin. I'm not sure who he is, but Jack says I'll like him. And I trust Jack. He always knows best.

2004: Today we spent in the bug-infested woods looking for a ghost. The Doctor says it takes a bit, but Robin's somewhere in Sherwood forest. Eventually we stopped in a cave to rest the night. Jack, since he doesn't sleep, kept watch all night while the Doctor kept a fire going and I slept. There isn't much a nine-year-old can do. When I woke up, I was alone in the cave. The fire had gone out, and all I had from the Doctor was his big coat that he must have put on me when I drifted off. "Jack!" I yelled. But there was no one out there. Just the trees and the stupid bugs. Although, I could definitely tell someone else was in the wood.

2004: It turns out the thing outside the cave was the Sheriff of Nottingham. He had been looking for Robin for quite some time, and thought I knew where he was. I was hoping Jack would be with him, but I couldn't find him or the Doctor anywhere. The Sheriff took me to his castle as a suspected dealer with Hood, and he wanted me to be hanged. Just as I stepped up to the rope, an arrow cut it loose. It was Robin Hood! And there were two other hoods with him? They ran to my rescue and stole me back into the forest. They were my two best friends! How silly I didn't notice sooner. They told me how Robin didn't see me when he went in to investigate, so he only took Jack and the Doctor. Then they saw me in trouble and helped. How heroic of them!

2004: After my rescue, Robin took the three of us back to the camp. It was a secret location, hidden like the Tardis would have been. Where is she, anyway? That night I left camp to look for her. My teddy was there, and I couldn't sleep without him one more night. And before long I was lost in the deep, dark woods. I sat down at the base of a tree and tried to rethink how I came to the spot, but it was very dark, so I sat and waited till morning.

When the sun rose, I was still lost. Travelling upstream, like Jack had taught me, I came to a village and saw the Sheriff making a speech. It didn't take long for a man in black to reach over from behind and throw me to the dirt. He wore black, and that's all I noticed. That, and his cold stare.

2004: "It's that girl again!" the little man screeched. Geez, he was so angry. I rolled, then crawled on the dirt, out of the reach of the leather-wearing man. "Help me! Jack? DOCTOR!" The rest of the people ran inside in fear. They weren't going to help me, a strange girl that is known by the Sheriff. Just as I got up, ready to run, I was thrown into the wagon and blindfolded. When my eyes opened to the light, I was back at the castle with the Sheriff and the slick man. But this time, a girl was there. She wasn't tied up like me, but we had the same face. "Hi, I'm Marian. What's your name?" she asked.

"…Tara…"

"That's a nice name," she said. "Can I ask you something about the forest? You came from there, right?"

"…Yeah…"

"Robin! Is he okay? Have you heard from him?" she whispered to me, keeping her words from the two distracted men in the corner.

"Robin Hood…saved me. And he's coming again."

2004: By the time anyone talked to me, it was noon. "Hello, I'm here to ask you about Marian," the dark man said, "Is she still in love with Robin?"

"I don't know…"

"You had better know! I have a deal to make: She loves kids, and will say anything to them. If you find out what I need to know, I'll let you free."

"Why does she matter?"

"Do you even know who you're talking to? I'm Guy of Gisborne. I answer to no one," he said, raising his voice.

I looked away. Jack always says a man who raises his voice at a lady will soon raise his hand. I was too hungry for this. Where's Jack?

More time passed, and my faith in Robin dwindled. A hero as big as him should have saved me, and the Doctor shouldn't be waiting either. It was dark again, and the chains on my wrists hurt, but Marian brought me bread, and we talked more about Robin. I had no idea two people could be so in love.

2004: Marian took me to her chambers so I wouldn't get sick from the dungeon. She's very nice…what I pictured my mum as. Guy continued to talk to me and her, but we turned our heads in the hopes that he would read the signals. That night, she told me to put on a red cape and follow her. They call her the Night Watchman. I was going to help and hopefully meet Robin and Jack so I could go home. But, like usual, nothing went right. When Marian asked me to jump over a street across rooftops, I thought it would be fun. But when you are on the roof looking down, it's not. I fell and dropped the dagger she had given me earlier that night. The fall was straight down into the street. It would have killed me, but Robin appeared and caught me right at the perfect moment. Jack wasn't far behind…but he should have been the one there. The Doctor was already at the castle, unlocking doors with his sonic screwdriver so they could grab the money and leave. The Night Watchman and Robin went in first, then the Doctor.

"Jack, I'm scared. The Sheriff's not nice! Please, I want to go home!"

"We will soon, Tara, be brave like I taught you. Robin's men are out, and he needs to get the money back to the people."

"Okay, Jack. Anything for you…" I sulked behind him as we entered the castle of darkness, dreading the people living there. Everyone was looking for the room with the loot. I had fallen behind the group. They left me out, even though I knew I could help.

"Jack—" I began.
"Not now."

"Please! I know where it—"

"Tara…I can't babysit now!"

Well, if that's how things go down! I stormed away without being noticed, into the room of gold. No one treats me like that!

Just as I turned the corner into the room, I noticed the Sheriff and Guy talking.

"Why, hello," Guy said with some surprise when he saw me, "Sit."